A bill to retool the state’s domestic violence laws – passed unanimously by the Massachusetts House on Tuesday – would also require police to keep secret the names of family or household members accused of committing the violence.

Some legislators on the South Shore and advocates for domestic violence victims say the regulation would actually help victims come forward, assuring their confidentiality by not disclosing a family member’s name.

But critics argue that the legislation would block the public’s right to know who is being accused of crimes in their cities and towns.

The state Senate will vote on a different overhaul of domestic violence laws, and the matter of police-records privacy will have to be debated in conference.

“It’s a balancing test,” state Sen. Brian A. Joyce, D-Milton, said. “Generally, I am loathe to restrict information from the public, but that needs to be weighed against the more important concerns for the victim and victim’s safety.”

While the bill approved by state representatives would offer domestic violence victims the same shield from public disclosure given to rape victims, the shield would not extend to the courtroom where those charged with domestic violence would be arraigned.

Jonathan Albano, a longtime media lawyer in Boston, was critical of any move to curtail public access to police reports.

“If you make police records private because they involve reports of domestic violence, you are making it more difficult to report on the effectiveness of police responses,” said Albano, a partner at the Bingham McCutchen law firm.

Robert Ambrogi, executive director of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, said the bill wrongly presumes that domestic violence cases are “purely a private matter.”

“If the alleged perpetrator happens to be a public figure or potentially a danger to the community, then it’s a very public matter,” Ambrogi said.

State Rep. James Cantwell, D-Marshfield, voted for the bill and defended the portion of it that mandates shielding of both alleged victims and perpetrators.

“It is so difficult to get victims to come forward,” said Cantwell, a former prosecutor. “The intent from my vote was try to shield the domestic violence victims from public disclosure in same way we do with rape cases.”

Cantwell argued that defendant’s names are made public at arraignments, which take place the morning or day after an arrest is made.

Sue Chandler, executive director of a Quincy social service agency that helps victims of domestic violence, said the bill would remove a barrier to victims coming forward.

“We are pushing accountability for offenders, but we are balancing that with victim safety,” she said. “If a woman’s worried about calling police if it’s going to be made public, then this is an effort to remove that barrier.”

Page 2 of 2 - Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.